Split Down the Middle
by DemonMiko
Summary: Looking at his burned palm, Kenshin noticed something strange. He stared for a moment before realizing what it was. 'This is the yin-yang.'


Split Down the Middle by DemonMiko  
  
[Chapter One]  
  
"Kenshin, would you mind helping me clean out the storage room today?" Kaoru waited for an answer even though she already knew the answer.  
  
It had been almost six months since the defeat of Shishio and now everyone was living back in Tokyo. Life resumed as if nothing had happened except that now Megumi and Sanosuke got along better. Kenshin now currently stayed at the dojo with Kaoru and Yahiko as a permanent resident, never to leave again. At that moment, Yahiko was sent off on an errand by Megumi to the Akabeko to check up on Tsubame and to grab a reservation for dinner in honor of Kaoru's dojo gaining back all her students and more.  
  
"I would be delighted to help Miss Kaoru, that I would." Kenshin smiled as he looked at Kaoru. She wore her old training clothes and her hair was tied up in a ponytail; she was ready to tackle the storage room.  
  
"Good; I'll go on ahead and start. Meet me in the storage room after you get the broom, mop, and a bucket of water." She made her way through the peaceful dojo.  
  
He smiled as he watched her go. "Yes Miss Kaoru."  
  
Kaoru waited by the open storage door. She was looking over what she could get rid of and what she would keep. Her mind went, 'Toss, keep, keep, toss, keep, and toss.' She did this until she heard Kenshin approaching her. Kaoru reached out a hand to grab a hold of the broom and mop while Kenshin struggled with the heavy water bucket.  
  
"Shall we start clearing out the room Miss Kaoru?"  
  
She nodded and added, "I'll see what to keep and what to toss. So don't throw anything away until I've checked it or you'll regret it."  
  
They both laughed at her last comment and started to clean out the dusty room. Two hours later, the area looked much cleaner but they still had a long ways to go. At last Kaoru decided that the water had to be changed.  
  
"Kenshin I'm going to dump this water and get some fresh water from the well. You keep cleaning." She left when Kenshin nodded. His hair was a mess so Kaoru mentally giggled to herself.  
  
He moved box after box of miscellaneous items outside until his gaze fell on an intricately carved wooden box sitting on top of one of the overflowing boxes. His eyes traced the pale green lotus stems to the large white lotus blossoms inlaid into the dark red wood and then he noticed something strange. The box was locked and sealed with what looked like an ancient demon ward.  
  
'Now I wonder why this is sealed with a demon warding spell.' Kenshin picked up the box and turned it over. 'It doesn't look dangerous. Ouch! Now what did I find here?'  
  
What Kenshin was referring to was a message of some sort glowing on the bottom of the box. Its characters were glowing red like a hot coal and it was hot to the touch and now his left hand was pulsing with the burn.  
  
'That wasn't there before. It's a wonder that this box just heated up suddenly as I picked it up. Let's see what it says here. Seems to be in Chinese, lucky there's a symbol here.' He stared at the message before he realized what it was. 'This is the yin-yang symbol; how strange.'  
  
Now his curiosity got the better of him as he tried with all his might to pry the lock open. Surprisingly the rusted lock held fast and the ward refused to rip. This was how Sanosuke found him. Kenshin looked liked he's just been to hell and back with his hair sticking out in odd places, dust covering his clothes, and him glaring at the harmless looking box while blowing on his scorched palm.  
  
"Hey Kenshin, what do we have here?" Sano looked at his friend with a puzzled expression.  
  
"Hello Sano. I was just trying to open this box, that I was." His eyes went wide with innocence. "Why are you here Sano?"  
  
"The Fox told me to come and get you and Missy. She said something about meeting at the Akabeko for a special dinner party. Oh, and I told Missy already so you don't have to find her."  
  
"I'll change and be right back with Miss Kaoru. Wait here Sano." Kenshin made his way to his room and closed the screen door. When he looked down at his hand, the first thing he noticed was that the burn he received from the box was shaped in a yin-yang symbol. It still hurt badly and it was glowing red but it was very minor. Kenshin reached for his bag of ointments and medical supplies. He cleaned the burn on his hand gently and rubbed some ointment onto it. Then he wrapped his hand with a bandage, changed into clean clothing, and ran off in search of Kaoru.  
  
They met up back with each other at the storage closet and now Sanosuke was long gone.  
  
'I though I told Sano to stay put. Oh well, he's probably with Megumi at the restaurant waiting for us.'  
  
Kaoru waved at Kenshin when she noticed him walking back to the storage room. She stopped mid-wave when she saw Kenshin's bandaged left hand.  
  
"What happened? Did you cut your hand on something?" Kaoru had a worried look on her face. 'Was there a broken something in the room?'  
  
'This is Miss Kaoru's honor dinner. I can't upset her now, that I cannot.' He looked at Kaoru with a smile. "I am fine Miss Kaoru, that I am. Only a small burn, that it is."  
  
"Only!? What do you mean by 'only'? Just where did you get a burn?" She fussed over Kenshin's burned hand until he gently reminded her that she had to be at the Akabeko. "Alright we'll go now, but don't think this topic died just yet."  
  
They were about halfway to the Akabeko when Kenshin asked a seemingly harmless question, even though it was out of the blue, "Do you know of any locked wooden boxes with a demon warding spell?"  
  
Kaoru stopped dead in her tracks as he finished the question. She shook her head and took a deep breath of air. "What was that?" She asked.  
  
"I was wondering if you knew of any wooden boxes that has a demon warding spell on it or one with lotus flowers carved into it." He stared at Kaoru's eyes as they changed from the kind ones that he was used to, to narrow, evil-looking slits.  
  
She hissed out, not really meaning to of course, "Where did you see a box like that?"  
  
"In a book that I read once." He quickly lied. "I was just thinking about that book, that I was." Kenshin smiled when he saw Kaoru relax a bit from the other question that he asked.  
  
"Why?" Kaoru whispered, barely noticeable.  
  
"Why what Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin looked at the way her eyes dulled when she whispered. He decided against questioning her further on the topic since she wasn't responding anyway.  
  
Tsubame shyly greeted them at the door and led them to where their group sat. All of Kaoru's students stood respectfully when she entered the private dining room, bowed, and said, "Sensei". She motioned for them to sit back down.  
  
"It's about time you go here Ugly. I'm starving." Yahiko was finally able to eat the food that had been sitting in front of him for such a long time. Only problem with this picture was that Kaoru didn't even respond.  
  
Megumi sat next to Sanosuke and whispered him a question. "Rooster, does Kaoru look OK to you?"  
  
"She looked fine earlier. Why do you ask?" He raised an eyebrow at Megumi. She gestured to Kaoru discreetly, making Sano notice that Kaoru was eating and talking a lot less then usual. Only when he looked at Megumi did she panic.  
  
"Don't get suspicious: I haven't done anything to her."  
  
"You think maybe, Kenshin has something to do with this?"  
  
"You know that Kenshin wouldn't hurt anyone. Especially not Kaoru!" Megumi whispered angrily.  
  
"OK, but that's not what I'm worried about; maybe he didn't tell her a secret or something like that. You know how she can get about those things. So what do you think happened then?"  
  
"I'll find out sooner or later."  
  
Kaoru's dulled gaze glanced over at the two whispering to each other and she quickly regained her senses. She turned to Kenshin and whispered, "Kenshin, I'm sorry for acting the way I did. I didn't mean to; it's just that that box that you were thinking about brought up some unwanted memories. When we get back to the dojo, I'll tell you all I know about the box." She swallowed some food and continued, "Just meet me in the training hall at midnight when everyone's asleep, what I'm going to tell you is a family secret and I know that you wouldn't tell a soul."  
  
Kenshin swallowed, nodded, and replied, "That would be a great honor to be in on a Kamiya family secret." Kaoru blushed slightly at this comment. After apologizing to Kenshin, Kaoru's usual self took the place of the dull side.  
  
"Kenshin, where's Yahiko?" Kaoru looked around the crowded room to not find a certain little brat. "He was here a minute ago  
  
"I'll go look for him if that would make you feel better. I finished eating anyway." He suggested.  
  
Kaoru nodded. "Would you please?"  
  
By this time the restaurant was full of people sitting with family and friends laughing and talking together in the main dining area. The noise level was high and it was hard to find Yahiko in that mess, so Kenshin finally gave up looking for him on his own. There would only be one person who knew where Yahiko was: Tae. Unfortunately for him, Tae had no idea where Yahiko went. So he slowly walked back to the private dining room.  
  
Yahiko sat directly in front of Kaoru, seemingly in the middle of a staring/glaring contest. The entire party was watching the two in utter silence. Kenshin sat back in his spot with out any response whatsoever. Only when Kaoru blinked did anyone make a sound.  
  
"Oh, yeah; I won and Kaoru lost!" Yahiko began chanting over and over.  
  
"Shut up while you're ahead Yahiko." Kaoru glared at the younger kid.  
  
"Make me." He taunted her.  
  
Sano, Megumi, and Kenshin all glanced at Yahiko and Kaoru and then to each other. Yup, just another normal dinner at the Akabeko.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
As soon as the group opened the gate to the dojo, Kenshin excused himself.  
  
"Good night everyone. Miss Kaoru, I'll draw your bath first. It'll be ready shortly." Then he ran off, leaving behind very confused Yahiko, Sanosuke, and Megumi.  
  
Kenshin slid the screen door to his room closed. He undid his bandages and glanced at the wound. It no longer stung but now he was confused.  
  
'Wasn't this one piece earlier?' The two halves of the yin-yang had moved away from each other, leaving a small gap in between the light and dark sides. 'I must need some sleep. I'm beginning to see things; that I am.' Shaking his head, he changed into his sleeping yukata and laid his head down onto his futon.  
  
He was about to fall asleep when a knock was heard from his door.  
  
Kaoru's soft voice called to him, "Meet me in the dojo."  
  
[End Chappie]  
  
I'm hoping you all liked the first chapter. It's my very first Kenshin fic so please be nice when reviewing. ^^ I'll also have you know that I WILL be updating on my Inuyasha fics as soon as my brain starts working again which won't be long considering that I have Winter Vacation in less than 3 days! ^^ I'm so happy!!!  
  
Well review and if you guys like the story so far I'll keep updating. 


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